I built my first product, Voyage Bus Tickets (view it here), using just Cursor. Then I built my second product (which is being kept a secret) using both Claude Code and Cursor. I’m building my third product using both Claude Code and Cursor. Here is my opinion on whether Claude Code or Cursor is the better code editor.
TLDR: I prefer Claude Code. However, Cursor still has its advantages and, as of Dec 11 2025, I plan on continuing to use it.
Why I tried Claude Code
I started programming using Cursor in 2024. After reading comments from several developers on X and YouTube saying Claude Code was the better coding agent and letting my interest in technology get the best of me, I decided to test Claude Code myself.
How They Work
- Cursor uses RAG-like indexing. It chunks your codebase, creates embeddings, and runs similarity search when you ask questions.
- Claude Code loads files into 200K token context window chats. It doesn't index codebases.
Pros vs Cons of Claude Code
As I stated in the TLDR, I prefer Claude Code over Cursor. Here are the pros/cons of using Claude Code over Cursor.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Large context windows (200K+ tokens) | Claude Code doesn’t have tab autocompletion because it’s a CLI tool |
| Never have to leave the terminal, great DX | Claude Code has to load entire files into context during every conversation which can make it slower than Cursor for quick fixes |
| Support for multiple concurrent subagents | |
| There’s a great community collection of plugins and skills — I myself use the frontend design plugin (link) which lets Opus 4.5 have comparable frontend quality to Gemini 3 Pro | |
| I’m convinced that Opus 4.5 has the best performance when used on Claude Code (source 1, source 2) | |
| Multiple concurrent Claude Code instances can be spun up |
Summary
I'll keep using both. I’ll continue to use Claude Code for most features for its better DX, support for parallel subagents, and large context windows, but I’ll use Cursor in the areas where it has the clear advantage, namely its quick file searching and tab completions
Edit (Dec 11, 2025) Revised the article following additions to Claude Code. I also added in some points that I didn't mention in my original post.
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